Tryst
by Ian R. Moros
Summary: Finding a little private time can be tricky, especially on Christmas.


Tryst

December 2006

Chuo Park

It is way too cold tonight; my hands are _freezing_. No matter how much I rub them together, stick them in my pockets or blow on them it doesn't work. I should have asked for new gloves this year.

"Hey, Takato." …Totally worth it though.

I can feel myself smiling before I even speak. "Hey, Jen."

He brushes the snow off the seat next to me and sits down on the bench, reflecting my smile back at me. "Sorry I took so long," he apologizes. "You must be freezing out here." He's panting; probably ran the whole way here knowing I'd be waiting. I live a lot closer to the park than he does, so it's not like I _had_ to head out the door as soon as I got off the phone...

I lean against him. "It feels warmer already."

I was just so excited that I couldn't wait. It's like Christmas when I was a kid, except this year it's not opening presents that has me so excited.

Jen leans back against me. "I'm glad." Our eyes meet for a moment before I close mine. His lips are chapped from the cold, but warm to the touch. _This _is what had me excited.

"Yo, we gotta talk!" a voice suddenly squawks beside me.

My heart leaps up into my throat and I break off our kiss in an instant. Jen and I both turn to look at once. Standing there behind the bench, arms crossed and tapping his foot, is Impmon.

"This a bad time?" he asks.

"What are you doing here?" Jen demands to know. "Don't tell me you're pranking people in the park again."

"Whoa there, buddy. It ain't like that," Impmon says, shaking his head. "I'm on the up-and-up here."

"Riiight," I say. "That's why you're skulking around in the park at night _on Christmas_."

"Hey, I am totally legit," Impmon says. "I'm only here 'cause you were skulkin' first. Not like it's my fault that you came to the park. Now listen, Takato, you 'n me need to have a little man-to-mon, okay? We gotta have some words. Well, mostly I gotta have some words; you need to shut up 'n do what I tell you. Same difference."

I groan and roll my eyes. "Impmon, if this is your new way of begging for bread—"

"Shaddup will ya?" Impmon snaps at me. "Talk, talk, talk, talk, _talk_! That all you humans are good for these days? Just hear me out."

"No," I tell him plainly.

"Oh c'mon," he insists. "It's the season of givin' and shit! Have a little heart, would ya?"

"Well…" I bite my lip. Maybe I should at least listen. It's not like he's as bad as he used to be. He learned his lesson… mostly.

"Takato, no," Jen cautions me.

"But it _is_ Christmas…" I whisper to him.

"Yeah, what he said," Impmon joins in.

"Exactly. It's _Christmas_," Jen says as he squeezes my hand. "This is no time for mischief."

"I resent that," Impmon barks at him. "I told you I ain't up to nothin'!"

That's when I catch sight of something peeking out over a hedge a few yards behind Impmon. It looks almost like a… a blue puffball. The kind you'd see on a winter hat. "Is that so?" I ask.

"Cross my heart," he insists.

"And who's that?" I ask, pointing behind him.

Impmon seizes up, not turning to look. "I, uh… I got no idea who—"

"You can come out, Makoto!" I shout. "I can see you from here!"

Makoto springs up from behind his cover and waves enthusiastically with a huge grin. "Hey, Takato!"

"Get down, dummy!" I hear Ai shout as Makoto is dragged back down behind the hedge.

Jen groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I swear, Impmon, I can't even tell anymore if you're a bad influence on them or they're a bad influence on you."

"You were saying something?" I ask Impmon.

He shuffles his feet and looks away. "Well, uh, okay, maybe I didn't mention them. And maybe they ain't here with the best of intentions, ya know? But _I'm _still on the level."

I look back at the hedge, where I can hear Ai and Makoto wrestling one another. "You guys can come out, you know," I call over to them. "You're not fooling anyone."

Sure enough their fighting stops and the two of the scramble out into the open, Makoto brushing the twigs and snow off himself while Ai tries to smooth out her winter clothes. What I didn't see coming was that a second later they were joined by someone else who actually _had _managed to keep hidden until now: Masahiko, Juri's little brother.

"Really, Masahiko?" Jen asks. "You too?"

Masahiko hangs his head a bit. "Sorry. They made me, though."

"Shouldn't you three be in bed by now?" Jen asks tersely.

"Shouldn't _you_?" Ai asks back.

"What are you even doing out here this late?" I ask.

"Messin' with folks," Makoto says without an ounce of shame. "It's real fun! Right, Impmon?"

Impmon groans. "I swear, I didn't teach him that. You gotta believe me."

"You shouldn't be out here this late; you could freeze," Jen says in the same "big brother" tone of voice I hear him use with Shiuchon all the time. "And you _definitely_ shouldn't be 'messing with folks.'"

"Hey how come you guys were kissin'?" Makoto changes the subject.

"Shut up, dummy!" Ai snaps at her brother, punching him in the arm.

"You shut up, stupid!" Makoto says, hitting her back. "It's a perfectly good question."

Ai hits him again. "I'll tell you when you're older!"

"We're the same age!" Makoto says before hitting back again.

Thankfully, Masahiko chimes in before things can get out of hand. "Just so you know, I'm only here 'cause they said there was a digimon."

Jen groans in frustration. "I keep telling you kids you shouldn't be looking for wild digimon," he says. "It's dangerous and you could get hurt."

"But how else am I gonna get one of my own?" Masahiko asks.

"You could always ask Liollmon to be your partner, you know," I remind Masahiko once again of the recent arrival.

He shakes his head. "Nah. He likes Juri better since she found him. He should be her partner."

"But she doesn't want a partner," I point out. "You two should give it a try. At least then you wouldn't be putting yourself in danger like this."

"It's not like digimon are all _that_ dangerous," Ai chimes in. "There haven't even been any big ones since we were little, right?"

"And we've got Impmon, too!" Makoto adds. "If anyone can watch out for us it's him."

"It's still too dangerous," Jen adds.

"But you did it when you guys were our age," Ai points out.

"Exactly. I know what I'm talking about," Jen says.

"Look, this is real great 'n all, but I gotta do what I came here to do in the first place," Impmon interrupts. "Me 'n you, goggles. We gotta talk."

I groan. "Impmon, if this is about your Christmas present—"

"Damn it, just listen!" he barks. "I know I might be a little on the selfish side sometimes—"

"Sometimes?" Jen, Ai, Makoto and Masahiko all ask at once.

"Shaddup!" Impmon snaps. "Anyway, like I was sayin', this ain't about me this time. See, I gotta give the perfect gift 'n the way I see it, you're the only one that can help."

"I smell a trap," Jen whispers under his breath.

I know Impmon can be a bad egg at times, but he really does try to do the right thing. If he wants to do something good I should at least hear what he has to say. "So what is this perfect gift?" I ask.

Impmon grins and points right at me. "You."

"Me?" I ask, pointing to myself.

Impmon nods. "You got it. See, I got to thinkin' about how I was gonna, y'know, try 'n make up for what I done… before, right? To Juri, I mean."

Now I know he's serious. Impmon does not fool around when it comes to Juri. "So you think I can help?" I ask.

"Sorta," Impmon says. "I got it all planned out. All _you_ gotta do is ask her out."

"…What?" Jen and I ask at the same time.

"You know, on one of those date-things," Impmon explains. "Dinner. Dancing. Movies. Baseball."

"Baseball?" Jen asks, even more confused than before. I get the feeling Impmon doesn't really get how this sort of thing works.

"Yeah, I think," Impmon says, scratching his head. "I hear stuff about really wantin' to get to first base, and—"

I shake my head. "That's not what they—Why are you even asking for this?"

"What, I gotta spell it out for you?" Impmon asks impatiently. "Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Boy asks girl out, gets her flowers or somethin', pays for dinner, whatever. Girl is happy, which makes Impmon is happy. You get me? And then there's somethin' about a dork."

"Stork," Makoto corrects him.

"That comes later," Ai says to them both.

Jen's whole face has gone bright red. "It… It doesn't work that way," he stammers.

"So wait, there's no bird?" Impmon asks.

"Not that," Jen says impatiently. "Well, actually, no, but… Okay none of those things are… Takato? Help?"

I clear my throat. "What I think Jen means is that it's not that simple. I can't just… _ask Juri out_." For a lot of reasons.

"Sure you can, it's easy," Impmon insists. "If you want I'll even do it for you."

"No, really, _please _don't," I insist.

"C'mon, Takato, you gotta help me out on this," Impmon begs, getting down on his knees and clasping his hands together. "You're my only chance. I just… I wanna make Juri happy. Is that so much to ask?"

I sigh. How can I make him understand?

"Impmon, there's got to be some other way to make her happy," Jen offers.

"But Impmon's right," Masahiko cuts in. "My sister _really _likes you, Takato."

"I'm sorry, but I can't," I try explaining.

"How come?" Masahiko asks.

"Don't you like her?" Makoto chimes in.

"I do, but not that way."

"Oh…" Masahiko sounds really disappointed. "So you don't, y'know, _like_-like her. Are you sure?"

"The kid's got a point," Impmon says. "Give it a shot. Who knows? You might like it! C'mon, do it for me, would you? I promise I'll never ask for anything else ever again. Not even bread!"

"Don't do it, Takato!" Makoto argues. "Girls are stupid."

"Boys are the stupid ones," Ai counters with a huff.

"Girls!" Makoto repeats.

"Boys!"

The shouting is almost immediately interrupted by another voice, this time, from the other direction. "Leave my big brother alone!"

We all turn to look at once. Sure enough, Jen's little sister has arrived.

"What are _you_-?" Jen tries asking before Shiuchon cuts him off.

"So _this _is what you guys meant by a wild digimon?" she asks.

"This behavior is reprehensible!" Lopmon says as he drops down from overhead, landing in front of Shiuchon. "We had feared for your well-being, but here you are playing games."

Impmon growls in frustration. "Would everybody just chill out already? This is between me and goggles!"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Jen asks.

Impmon shakes his head. "Not on your life, bub!"

"You back off, Impmon," Shiuchon demands. "No way am I letting you ruin my big brother's date!"

"Too late," Jen whispers to me.

"Date?" Impmon asks. "What, these two? Shit, if you can go on a date with this loser why can't you do the same with Juri, huh?"

Shiuchon fumes at that. "My big brother is not a loser!"

"Nicest thing she's ever said about you?" I whisper to Jen. He responds only with a nod.

"It's not a date," Makoto tries explaining. "Dates have, like, girls and stuff."

"Well then if it's _not _a date, Takato's free to go out with Juri," Masahiko points out.

"It is too a date!" Shiuchon barks at the boys. "Now will you guys stop ruining it?"

"I don't get it," says Makoto.

Ai punches him in the shoulder. "I already told you I'd explain later!"

"Ow! Would you stop hitting me?" Of course Makoto shoves her as he says so, prompting a quick response from Ai.

"Knock it off, the both of you!" Impmon yells at the pair.

"S-sorry, Impmon," Ai apologizes immediately.

"Yeah, thorry," Makoto says, Ai still having a finger hooked inside his mouth while he has a handful of her hair.

"You knock it off too, Impmon," Shiuchon says. "My brother and Takato are in love and I'm not going to let you wreck it."

"So what?" Impmon asks. "All I want is for Takato to ask Juri a simple question! Is that a crime now?"

"You have already received your answer, Impmon," Lopmon scolds him. "You will gain nothing from this course of action save for my ire!"

"Ah, whatever ya dumb bunny!" Impmon shrugs. "I've had worse, and this matters more than whatever you think you can do to me."

Jen looks at me and lowers his voice to a whisper. "Bail?"

I scan the others. From the looks of it, they're more focused on each other than on us. This might be our best shot. I give Jen a quick nod. "Bail."

As the others keep arguing Jen and I leap off the bench and hit the ground running. We're sprinting down the path and around the corner before any of them even start giving chase, and we are faster than any of them are.

We duck off the path and behind a bush once we're sure we're out of sight, making sure not to leave any tracks in the snow that they might see. Sure enough, the whole bunch of them run by a few seconds later, shouting to one another about which way they think we went. Once they've gone Jen and I stand back up again and take off running the way we came from, then down the hill, past the tennis courts, and finally to the tree line just before the fountain.

We're both breathing heavily now; despite how cold it is I'm sweating from the run and lean back against a tree while I catch my breath. Jen's doubled over in front of me, panting and coughing, but laughing all the while.

"Merry Christmas," I say between breaths.

He looks up at me, smiling and laughing. "Merry Christmas," he echoes back.

Seconds go by and my heart rate starts slowing back down again and I can start to breathe easier. Not quite the evening I had planned, but at least I'm with Jen. He stands upright again, stretching his back and cracking his knuckles before he turns to look at me.

"Where were we?" he asks.

I laugh at that. "You'll have to remind me," I say coyly.

Even in the dark I can see the smile spreading over his face as he leans in closer to me and places a hand on my back. "I think it was…"

I start to close my eyes as Jen's lips press against mine. That's when a blinding white light turns on right in front of me.

I… yell. Not exactly my manliest moment, I know. And of course because I did it at the _exact _moment that Jen was going in for a kiss, he jumped back, slipped on the ice and fell right on his ass. All over a pair of headlights.

I apologize hastily to Jen, trying to help him back up while my eyes adjust. What is a van doing parked by the fountain at this time of night?

"A little late to be out, don't you think?" a familiar voice asks from next to the van. Of _course _it would be him.

I don't respond right away, instead helping Jen back up to his feet with a grunt. "Slow night at the office?" I finally ask.

The headlights on the van turn back off and I can see again. There's Mr. Yamaki, standing next to it, while Reika waves at us from the driver's seat. "Seen anything suspicious tonight, boys?" he asks.

"Do creepy old guys in unmarked, black vans and wearing sunglasses at night count?" Jen asks while brushing the snow off himself.

"Rumor has it there's a wild one running around," Mr. Yamaki says without answering.

I stifle a laugh; Jen does a little better than me, even keeping a straight face long enough to ask a question. "Where'd you hear that? Does Hypnos have some top secret spy satellites now?"

Mr. Yamaki smirks. "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you."

"Spy satellites?" I ask, stifling another laugh. "That's _so _twentieth century, Jen. He's probably using quantum computer nanomachines or something. Right?"

Jen nods at that. "Could be. That or he hacked a nine-year-old's email account. That would be a _real _challenge."

Jen and I both laugh at that, and even Reika joins in. "I think your secret's out, boss," she says.

Mr. Yamaki groans. "Looks like a false alarm then."

"At least it got us out of the office," Reika says, getting out of the van to stretch her legs.

"Whoa," Jen says in surprised. "I didn't know you were so far along."

"Yeah, only a few more months now," Reika says, rubbing her obviously pregnant belly.

"I told you so, Jen," I remind him. Reika comes by the bakery even more than she used to now; she says our bread is the only thing that doesn't upset her stomach.

"I can't believe you're still at work," Jen points out.

"I won't be on Monday," Reika explains. "My maternity leave starts next week."

"Well congratulations then," Jen says. "Still not saying who the daddy is?"

"My lips are sealed," she says with a wink. "Secrecy comes with the job, you know."

"Riiight. Whatever you say," Jen says, more at Mr. Yamaki than at Reika.

You'd think a spy would be better at keeping secrets. But without fail, whenever Reika is in the bakery he's right there with her. He claims it's because he wants to be sure that she gets his order right, but he's been having the exact same thing for the last five years.

"So what brings you two to the park, hm?" Mr. Yamaki asks Jen.

"Uh… same thing as you," Jen says. "We heard there was a digimon."

"Of course, of course," Mr. Yamaki says, nodding vigorously. "No other reason to be here, after all. At this time of night the only ones who come by this park are digimon tamers and horny teenagers looking for a make-out spot."

I have to stifle another laugh. Jen looks a bit pale, but keeps his cool. "I wouldn't know anything about that," he says.

"Oh come on, boss," Reika says, rolling her eyes. "It's not like _you _never paid a visit to the good old lover's lane when you were a kid."

Mr. Yamaki smirks again. "That information is classified."

"At least the park's a nice place for it," Reika admits. "The make-out spot when I was a teenager was a fast food joint."

"I think that's enough of a walk down memory lane for one night," Mr. Yamaki says as he walks back toward the passenger's side of the van. "We've got to get back to the office to file a _very _thorough report on what we've seen here tonight."

Jen tenses up at that. "You wouldn't," he mutters.

Mr. Yamaki looks back at him and raises an eyebrow. "Wouldn't I?"

A few seconds of tense silence passes before Jen answers. "We never saw you if you never saw us."

"Deal." Mr. Yamaki nods and opens the passenger side door.

"So dramatic," Reika says to me in a hushed tone as she moves back toward the van.

"Congratulations again!" Jen calls after her.

Reika smiles back at us. "Congratulations to you too, boys."

Jen blushes at that, but he's still smiling.

The van starts up and drives off into the night. I give Jen a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Some Christmas, huh?" he asks.

"I thought it was fun," I tell him.

"I guess there's always next year," he says. "Come on, we should find the others and make sure they all get home."

I nod. "Yeah, good thinking."

We head back up the path toward where we last saw Impmon and the others. They can't have gotten too far, but we don't want them getting caught out in the cold, especially now that it's starting to snow again.

"Did you get everything you wanted?" Jen asks.

"Almost," I admit.

"Yeah, me too."

I nod. Guilmon and Terriermon.

"What do you think?" I ask. "Will 2007 be our lucky year?"

He takes hold of my hand. "Feels like it to me."


End file.
